


Snow Day

by genkisakka



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-30
Updated: 2015-01-30
Packaged: 2018-03-09 17:40:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3258608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genkisakka/pseuds/genkisakka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The heart often recognizes what the mind has forgotten.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snow Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kirathaune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kirathaune/gifts).



> Written for the 2014 yuletide_smut Dreamwidth community exchange

Nataku had always perceived the world below in shades of crimson and dusk, a blood-spattered and pain-shadowed place where the air was filled with the roars of ravening beasts and the howls of power-mad demons. His missions had usually taken place under cover of darkness, in hidden fissures and grottos thick with the stench of pumice and sulfur.

Today, however, the former War Prince of Heaven squints against the blinding glare of sunlight glinting off a glittering expanse of white. The only shadows in the courtyard below are those cast by the monastery’s occupants, the only sounds those of laughter and cheerful chatter. Nataku never suspected the world below could be so bright and clean, though he isn’t sure he cares much for the teeth-rattling cold that accompanies the substance he overheard someone call “snow.”

Nataku starts to pull the shutters closed, but a gleam of gold among the gray-garbed monks stays his hand. Nataku smiles slightly at the sight of Goku scooping up a handful of snow and patting it into a solid projectile, which he then hurls at his tall, red-haired friend – the half-breed called Gojyo. The snow missile strikes Gojyo in the shoulder, and he jeers –

“What’sa matter, monkey, too short to aim higher?”

“Ain’t that short, you long-legged cockroach!” Goku swiftly shapes another frozen globe and lets it fly. This missile hits Gojyo right in the mouth, which is open mid-taunt, and he sputters and swears revenge. The rest of the monks retreat as the snow war between the two escalates to an armed sparring session, with Goku using his staff to scoop and launch projectiles and Gojyo using his shakujo to deflect and redirect them. Nataku feels a compulsion to join them, but resists, fearing it is merely an echo of the malignant programming forced upon him by Ukoku Sanzo. The Bosatsu had assured Nataku that se had eradiated the virus and restored him to his previous state, but Nataku trusts the word of gods even less than that of men.

After all, if he is truly restored, why can he not remember anything from his past but his missions?

The mingled scent of gun oil and tobacco announces Genjyo Sanzo’s presence well before Nataku can hear his footsteps approaching from behind. He takes a spot next to Nataku and scowls at the courtyard below.

“Idiots,” he grumbles. “I’ve told them a thousand times to keep their weapons sheathed when they’re inside the walls. Hey, dumbasses!” he shouts. “Stop scaring the shit out of people with those things!”

“Sorry, Sanzo!” Goku yells back. He and Gojyo dismiss their weapons and resume their battle using snow alone. Sanzo mutters something that sounds like “morons” and takes a deep drag of his cigarette.

Nataku chances a sidelong glance at the formidable man Goku calls Sanzo with such affection. He is surprised to see Sanzo in an ordinary acolyte’s robes, rather than his usual white and gold finery. He examines the quilted jacket overlaying Sanzo’s garb with some envy; Nataku’s own silken robes are rather thin for such frigid weather. He tries his best not to visibly shiver.

“Surprised you’re not down there,” Sanzo says. “The idiot monkey finally letting you have a moment’s peace?”

Nataku smiles slightly. “He asked if I wanted to join them,” he says, pleased to hear that his voice is losing some of its odd metallic ring. “I declined.”

“Seems you have at least a little sense,” Sanzo says, the corners of his mouth tipping ever so slightly upward. The gesture makes Nataku feel a little warmer.

“Does it always snow here in winter?” he asks.

Sanzo tapped the ash from his cigarette. “Once, maybe twice a year,” he replies, his eyes following Goku as he chases Gojyo around the courtyard. “You know, that little shit down there used to be terrified of snow when he was a kid.”

“Really?” Nataku tries to imagine a younger Goku, like the one he was told he had known in Heaven so many years ago. He can almost picture him, the image flickering against his memory like light against a blank wall. He wants so badly to regain those good memories, but they remain just beyond his grasp.

Sanzo shakes his head. “Thought it would swallow him whole or something,” he muses. “I had to show the stupid ape how to stand on it without getting sucked down. Of course, the promise of hot pot might have encouraged him as well.” The monk makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like a chuckle, and Nataku smiles into his sleeve. They stand together in silence for a few more minutes, watching Gojyo pin Goku face-down in the snow, and Goku flip Gojyo over on his back with a triumphant shout. Sanzo uses the windowsill to extinguish the smoldering remains of his cigarette, then shrugs out of his jacket and drapes it over Nataku’s shoulders.

“Don’t catch cold,” he says, giving Nataku a rough pat on the head before heading back down the hall. Nataku clutches the lapels together and calls over his shoulder –

“Thank you!”

He turns back to the window and sees Goku staring up at him. “Nataku!” he yells, waving and bouncing up and down on his heels. “Come on down and make snow angels with us!” Goku’s smile is as dazzling as the snow surrounding him, and Nataku feels its glow reach into the very heart of him. It is the same feeling that dragged him out of Ukoku’s grasp during the battle at Houtou, the same feeling that prompted him to follow Goku to the world below rather than return to Heaven alone.

His mind may not remember Goku, but his heart knows him well. _“You were – you **are** my friend,”_ Goku had declared as Nataku’s sword hovered just above his head during that final battle, and his fierce certainty continues to pull Nataku forward into this strange, beautiful world.

“C’mon, Nataku!” Goku waves again, and Nataku holds up his hand in reply.

“I’ll be right down!” he says. He hops lightly onto the windowsill and leaps to the ground below, where his friend is waiting.


End file.
